St Michael and St Martin's Church, Eastleach Martin

St Michael and St Martin’s Church stands in the quiet village of Eastleach Martin, Gloucestershire, beside the River Leach. The church divides the village from its neighbour Eastleach Turville, where St Andrew’s Church lies just 180 metres away. It is a Grade I listed building, cared for by The Churches Conservation Trust. The church was founded in the 12th century by Richard Fitzpons, whose son gave it to Great Malvern Priory in 1120. Later, in the 14th century, a transept was added, and in the early 19th century John Keble served as curate here before becoming a leader of the Oxford Movement.

The church shows layers of building from different centuries. The nave has a south porch with a 12th-century doorway in Norman style and a 13th-century window nearby. The tower rises in two stages, with diagonal buttresses and a small stair turret on the north side. Inside, the walls are limewashed, and the chancel contains a piscina and a 15th-century octagonal font. Fragments of medieval stained glass remain in some windows, and the hexagonal pulpit carries Jacobean panelling. Outside, a 14th-century cross base and two early 18th- and 19th-century tombs stand in the churchyard.

Paths lead from the churchyard to the riverbank, where Keble’s Bridge crosses the Leach. The church’s stone slate roof and rubble limestone walls blend with the gentle Cotswold landscape. The east window of the chancel catches the morning light, and the remains of a bellcote mark the nave’s gable. The twin villages share a peaceful setting, their churches standing close enough to be seen from one another across the fields.